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Former warehouse strip stocked full of eateries
By Xu Wenwen |
February 28, 2013, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Formerly a shabby strip of warehouses next to the Grand Canal, Dadou Road has been reinvented as a food street.
The change began in the south of Dadou Road, proving such a success that restaurants have since sprung up in the northern part.
In the year since the road's revamp, popular local restaurant brands like Green Tea and Jiang Nan Yi have established outlets in the south of Dadou Road, attracting queues of diners every day.
And in the past six months, eight restaurants have opened in the northern part of the street, most located in uniformly decorated black and white two and three-floor Chinese-style buildings.
Many establishments knocked down walls facing onto the Grand Canal, replacing these with French windows that are distinguished by unique designs.
This makes walking along the strip especially pleasant when night falls, as the warm yellow light shining through the French windows from the restaurants complements the red lanterns and blue illuminations along the canal.
Shanghai Daily took a stroll along the north of Dadou Road to check out some newly opened restaurants.
D-Lovee
Passersby love to stop at and gawk at D-Lovee's front, with its eye-catching French windows. The entire three-floor facade consists of a dozen or so French windows, set in an apparently random manner: some bulge; some are indented; some are transparent; some opaque.
The interior is equally quirky - "post-modern," according to the owners. Black and white decor coupled with European-style cozy chairs and sofas in a spacious room create a space equally suited for a laid-back business meeting or a friends' party.
Open three months, Internet comments about D-Lovee are generally positive - mostly praising the environment and taste. "Just right taste" and "an agreeable space and surroundings" are typical views.
Its menu offers Hangzhou and Shanghai cuisine, plus some fusion options. Recommended dishes include D-Lovee Crispy - chicken sauteed with cabbage, mustard and hazel nuts; crispy sirloin - deep-fried sirloin coated in flour; and Qiandao Lake fish head soup, which blends tender fish flesh and tofu.
One minus point is that service can be brusque when the restaurant is busy.
Address: 188 Dadou Road
Tel: (0571) 8817-5757
Coconut Theme Restaurant
As its name makes pretty clear, coconut dishes are the specialty here - with a focus on cuisine from Hainan, China's tropical island province that boasts abundant coconuts.
The restaurant mainly offers hotpot, including coconut and chicken hotpot, a signature dish of Hainan cuisine.
Chicken is boiled in coconut water, with coconut meat sprinkled to add flavor. And as tender chicken is used, it takes eight minutes (there are timers at the tables) for the chicken to be cooked. It absorbs the coconut well and tastes lightly sweet without greasiness.
The hotpot, served with vegetables, kumquat and chili, costs 118 yuan (US$19). Extra sauces are 6 yuan per person.
Also on the menu are Hainan-style coconut rice - a little sweet and containing shredded coconut, coconut cake and coconut juice.
Compared to its neighbors, the restaurant has simpler decor. And its menu is small, with few options beyond hotpot.
Address: 236 Dadou Road
Tel: (0571) 5811-1525
Old Man Restaurant
This restaurant has a more vintage look (and name) than its neighbors, its exterior resembling a house from a century ago. Adding to the vibe, lamps hang from its 10 narrow carved wooden gates.
As befitting its traditional looks, Old Man Restaurant serves country-style cuisine from Zhejiang Province, which is savory but not spicy. Most ingredients are bought direct from country suppliers.
There's no menu. Instead diners choose from photographs of dishes on the walls or pick up the fresh ingredients, like freshwater produce from an aquarium and eggs on display in baskets.
These local eggs are from free-range poultry, which are believed to be healthier options. A local chicken egg costs 3 yuan; a local duck egg is 5 yuan; and a goose egg is 12 yuan.
Local chicken pot, stone pot mutton and large pot tofu are recommended.
Address: 240 Dadou Road
Tel: (0571) 5655-9999
The change began in the south of Dadou Road, proving such a success that restaurants have since sprung up in the northern part.
In the year since the road's revamp, popular local restaurant brands like Green Tea and Jiang Nan Yi have established outlets in the south of Dadou Road, attracting queues of diners every day.
And in the past six months, eight restaurants have opened in the northern part of the street, most located in uniformly decorated black and white two and three-floor Chinese-style buildings.
Many establishments knocked down walls facing onto the Grand Canal, replacing these with French windows that are distinguished by unique designs.
This makes walking along the strip especially pleasant when night falls, as the warm yellow light shining through the French windows from the restaurants complements the red lanterns and blue illuminations along the canal.
Shanghai Daily took a stroll along the north of Dadou Road to check out some newly opened restaurants.
D-Lovee
Passersby love to stop at and gawk at D-Lovee's front, with its eye-catching French windows. The entire three-floor facade consists of a dozen or so French windows, set in an apparently random manner: some bulge; some are indented; some are transparent; some opaque.
The interior is equally quirky - "post-modern," according to the owners. Black and white decor coupled with European-style cozy chairs and sofas in a spacious room create a space equally suited for a laid-back business meeting or a friends' party.
Open three months, Internet comments about D-Lovee are generally positive - mostly praising the environment and taste. "Just right taste" and "an agreeable space and surroundings" are typical views.
Its menu offers Hangzhou and Shanghai cuisine, plus some fusion options. Recommended dishes include D-Lovee Crispy - chicken sauteed with cabbage, mustard and hazel nuts; crispy sirloin - deep-fried sirloin coated in flour; and Qiandao Lake fish head soup, which blends tender fish flesh and tofu.
One minus point is that service can be brusque when the restaurant is busy.
Address: 188 Dadou Road
Tel: (0571) 8817-5757
Coconut Theme Restaurant
As its name makes pretty clear, coconut dishes are the specialty here - with a focus on cuisine from Hainan, China's tropical island province that boasts abundant coconuts.
The restaurant mainly offers hotpot, including coconut and chicken hotpot, a signature dish of Hainan cuisine.
Chicken is boiled in coconut water, with coconut meat sprinkled to add flavor. And as tender chicken is used, it takes eight minutes (there are timers at the tables) for the chicken to be cooked. It absorbs the coconut well and tastes lightly sweet without greasiness.
The hotpot, served with vegetables, kumquat and chili, costs 118 yuan (US$19). Extra sauces are 6 yuan per person.
Also on the menu are Hainan-style coconut rice - a little sweet and containing shredded coconut, coconut cake and coconut juice.
Compared to its neighbors, the restaurant has simpler decor. And its menu is small, with few options beyond hotpot.
Address: 236 Dadou Road
Tel: (0571) 5811-1525
Old Man Restaurant
This restaurant has a more vintage look (and name) than its neighbors, its exterior resembling a house from a century ago. Adding to the vibe, lamps hang from its 10 narrow carved wooden gates.
As befitting its traditional looks, Old Man Restaurant serves country-style cuisine from Zhejiang Province, which is savory but not spicy. Most ingredients are bought direct from country suppliers.
There's no menu. Instead diners choose from photographs of dishes on the walls or pick up the fresh ingredients, like freshwater produce from an aquarium and eggs on display in baskets.
These local eggs are from free-range poultry, which are believed to be healthier options. A local chicken egg costs 3 yuan; a local duck egg is 5 yuan; and a goose egg is 12 yuan.
Local chicken pot, stone pot mutton and large pot tofu are recommended.
Address: 240 Dadou Road
Tel: (0571) 5655-9999
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